Wireless tattoo applicator

ABSTRACT

A wireless, battery powered tattooing apparatus employing a stable voltage regulator to provide stable control of the operation of the tattoo applicator. A user interface enables an artist to select a desired reciprocation frequency for the needle movement of the tattoo applicator. The selected setting is used to generate a particular voltage from the voltage regulator that in turn, controls the frequency of the needle reciprocations. A wireless receiver receives operational commands to control the tattoo applicator from a remote transmitter thereby keeping the artist&#39;s hands free to work.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a non-provisional application filed in the UnitedStates Patent Office and claiming the benefit of the filing date ofUnited States Provisional Application for Patent filed on Jun. 1, 2007,assigned Ser. No. 60/932,821 and having a title of WIRELESS TATTOOINGSYSTEMS AND METHODS, which is also incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

Ascertaining the exact historical beginnings of a concept such as bodytattoos is a difficult task at best but, research has clearly shown thatit is certainly not a recent phenomenon. Some believe that the wordtattoo is derived from combining the Polynesian word “TA” which means tostrike something with the Tahitian word “TATAU” which means to marksomething. The existence of tattoos has been determined to be at leastfive thousand years old. This belief was based on the 1991 discovery ofa frozen body on a European mountain. The frozen body bore a total of 57tattoos. Today, tattoos are included in the broad spectrum of body art.Body tattoos have considerable range from a small flower, initial, etc.to a full-body themed tattoo such as Tom Leppard whose entire body iscovered with leopard spots.

Whatever is the tattoo of choice, it is clear tattoos are art. Thetypical tattoo bearer makes a statement about himself or herself throughthe tattoo, whether it is politically motivated, love motivated, vanitymotivated or simply an affectionate attachment to the object or style ofthe tattoo. Likewise, the person applying the tattoo is certainlyreferred to as a tattoo artist.

As is typical with most artists, the tattoo artist uses a set of toolsor objects to create art where there once was none. In the tattoo arena,the primary took that is utilized by the tattoo artist is the tattoogun. The tattoo gun in the hand of a tattoo artist is similar to thebrush in the hand of a painter or a piece of charcoal in the hand of adrawer. As such, the touch and feel of the tattoo gun becomes importantto the tattoo artist and in essence becomes an extension of theirartistic being. Thus, it is not surprising that in general, mostavailable tattoo guns or applicators have a similar look and feel tothem. It is a design that has become popular and accepted in theindustry.

In the forming of a tattoo on skin, one or more needles carrying a smallquantity of ink is utilized. The needle penetrates the skin leaving asmall spot of the ink which will result in the production of thediscoloration of the skin. Repeating this procedure numerous times in aparticular pattern with one or more ink colors of ink will result in theproduction of a desired tattoo.

In the creation of most tattoos, it is required to insert a needle intothe skin hundreds of times, and in some tattoos, even thousands oftimes. A common technique of producing a tattoo is to manually insertand withdraw a needle each and every time. In order to decrease theamount of time it takes to make a tattoo, in the past it has been knownto use some kind of a mechanism that causes the needle to oscillaterapidly with the user only being required to carefully move the needlefrom one location to another. These locations are generally adjacent toeach other, and the needle will be moved continually from theselocations until the desired pattern of the tattoo is reproduced. In thepast, this type of mechanism has been operated with a plugged in powersource.

A very important feature of modern day tattoo guns is maintainingconsistent oscillations of the needle(s). For instance, when an artistis drawing the lines or outlining the tattoo, the needle(s) oscillate ata first frequency. However, when the artist is shading in areas of thetattoo, the needles generally oscillate at a slower speed. In addition,in many circumstances the depth or range of needle motion is varied. Forinstance, the range can be modified to penetrate deeper into the skinfor leathery or darker skins, and less deep for soft pale skins. Inaddition, certain looks can be achieved by varying the depth of the inkpenetration. Thus, maintaining the oscillation frequency as well as themotion range of the oscillation is important to the artist to enableconsistency in the application of the ink and control. In the past, theoscillation frequency has been provided by using a stabilized voltagesource that is fed to the tattoo gun from an external voltage supplythrough one or more wires.

The current generation of tattoo machines is moving towards a wirelessor non-connected type of arrangement. However, the typical wirelesstattoo mechanisms on the market are either too unsanitary and/or havetoo much extra weight resulting in an artist having to struggle whilecreating a tattoo or experiencing fatigue. There are numerous problemswith existing wireless tattoo applicators. For instance, employinginefficient voltage conversion technology has resulted in usingoversized batteries and hence, resulting in too much extra weight in thetattoo gun. In addition, the lack of universal compatibility hasresulted in creating a sanitation issue in that a voltage controllerwhich is used with a possibly infected glove may be used numerous timesthroughout the process of a tattoo. Another issue that is present in thestate of the art is wireless interference that can effect the operationof the wireless tattoo applicator. Yet another issue relates to theinconsistency of power and/or frequency used to control the tattoo gun.Even further, the input voltage of the tattoo applicator can beinfluenced by the external power supply and is therefore unreliable.

Thus, there is a need in the art for a wireless or cordless tattoomechanism that can improve the usability of the device from the artists'perspective, as well as provide a sanitary environment for both theartist and the customer.

BRIEF SUMMARY

The present invention is directed towards various aspects, features andembodiments of a wireless tattoo applicator. In general, an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention is a wireless, cordless ornon-tethered tattooing apparatus that employs the use of batteries and astable voltage regulator to provide a stable control of the operation ofthe tattoo applicator. More specifically, one embodiment includes a userinterface that enables an artist to set a desired reciprocationfrequency for the needle movement of the tattoo applicator. The selectedsetting is used to generate a particular voltage from the voltageregulator that in turn, controls the frequency of the needlereciprocations. In another embodiment of the invention, the tattooapplicator includes a wireless receiver through which it can receiveoperational commands. A remote transmitter can then send operationalcommands to the wireless tattoo applicator to control the operation ofthe applicator. For instance, a foot pedal may be used to trigger thetransmission of an on or off signal. The reception of these commandswill result in either turning the reciprocating action of the tattooapplicator on or off. Similarly, a remote device may be used to selectthe reciprocating frequency. A command indicative of the selectedfrequency and then be transmitted to the tattoo applicator and theapplicator can adjust its settings accordingly.

Various techniques are employed in embodiments of the present inventionto help reduce battery consumption and thereby increase the charge lifeof the batteries running the tattoo applicator. One technique employs asynchronization protocol that periodically transmits an on command tothe tattoo applicator until the artist actuates a switch to have an offcommand sent. Further, such an embodiment includes a software algorithmor module that continuously looks for the on command and then resets awatchdog timer when the on command is received. If the on command is notreceived in a desired time period, the tattoo applicator canautomatically power down. This aspect of the invention advantageouslyreduces power consumption and also decreases power interrupts due tofalse power off requests.

Another technique that can be employed is the application ofintelligence in the control of the electromagnetic circuitry used tocreating the reciprocating motion of the armature. For instance, ratherthen triggering the application of current or excitement of the coilsbased on the armature closing the contacts with the circuit, embodimentsof the present invention can capitalize on pendulum motion technology toreduce the energy required to move the armature. For instance, typicaltattoo applicators begin to provide power to move the armature downwardtoo early in the pendulum swing. In embodiments incorporating thisaspect of the invention, an algorithm is used to more accurately assesswhen the armature has crested the end of a swing and momentum isstarting in the other direction. At this point, power is applied toassist in the motion.

In addition, embodiments of the invention may employ the use of a springto help absorb energy during the down swing of the armature and releasethis energy back in the up swing of the armature. Advantageously, thisaspect of the present invention operates to reduce power consumption andprolongs the life of the tattoo applicator by reducing mechanicalstress.

These and other aspects, features and embodiments of the presentinvention are more fully described in the detailed description andillustrated in the figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a tattoo gun incorporating variousfeatures and aspects of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view elevation of the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a top view elevation of the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4A is a front view elevation of the embodiment illustrated in FIG.1.

FIG. 4B is a back view elevation of the embodiment illustrated in FIG.1.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the frame 116 of thedrive assembly 104.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating the operational steps of anembodiment of the present invention as described above in conjunctionwith FIGS. 1-5.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an exemplary battery charger and remotetransmitter that can be used with various embodiments of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

The present invention, as well as features and aspects thereof, isdirected towards providing a wireless, cordless or non-tethered tattooapplicator or gun for use in the application of tattoos. Morespecifically, an embodiment of the present invention includes a batterypowered tattoo gun that includes a stable voltage regulator that is usedto control the oscillating or reciprocating frequency of the needleassembly and that can be set at various settings for differingfrequencies. Another embodiment of the invention is a wireless andbattery operated pen tube drive assembly that can receive a plurality ofbrands and styles of tattoo gun pen tubes and control the application ofink by driving the needle assembly of the pen tubes in a stable manner.One inventive aspect that can be incorporated into various embodimentsof the present invention is a power saving technique that saves power bycooperatively working with the mechanical momentum of the device to savebattery drainage. Another inventive aspect that can be incorporated intovarious embodiments of the present invention is a redundant protocolthat operates to power down the tattoo gun when it is not in use but,that also alleviates the risk of false shut-offs during operation.

To maintain freedom of movement and availability of hands, an embodimentof the wireless tattoo gun may exclude a power on/off switch on thetattoo gun and instead, utilize a wireless transmitter to send on andoff signals to the wireless tattoo gun. Advantageously, this aspect ofthe present invention allows the wireless tattoo gun to be powered downduring non-use to help conserve power, to free-up the artists' hand fromhaving to turn the gun on and off, and for safety and sanitationpurposes. For instance, in one embodiment of the invention a foot pedalmay be used to turn the wireless tattoo gun on and off. The foot pedalcan toggle an on/off switch which either activates or deactivates aconstant IR or RF signal. The foot pedal can be either directlyconnected to a base unit (e.g., a base unit comprising a transmitterand/or battery charger) via a wire plugged into a jack, directlyintegrated into the base unit or wireless (such as IR or RF).Alternatively, the foot pedal can be a separate unit that is, forexample, battery operated and sends the on or off command via an IR orRF signal using the foot pedal's own PCB and transmitter.

The wireless communication can be conducted via infrared technology orradio frequency technology. In either case, another aspect of thepresent invention is a synchronization technique and redundancytechniques to alleviate interference between a wireless tattoo gun andother wireless tattoo guns or other transmitting devices.

Another inventive aspect of the various embodiments of the inventionincludes a non-rotating spring holder. In general, this aspect of thepresent invention helps to prevent the spring from being rotated duringadjustments and thereby causing alignment problems.

These and other aspects, features and embodiments of the presentinvention will be more clearly understood in view of the followingfigures and the descriptions associated therewith in which like labelsrepresent like elements throughout the several views.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a tattoo gun incorporating variousfeatures and aspects of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a side viewelevation of the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a top viewelevation of the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1. FIG. 4A is a frontview elevation of the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1. FIG. 4B is afront view elevation of the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1.

Looking at FIG. 1, the tattoo gun 100 includes a pen assembly 102 and adrive assembly 104. The pen assembly 102 includes a pen tube 106, abarrel 108 and a needle assembly 110. It should be appreciated thatreference numbers, such as 110 refer to a component or assembly and if aletter is appended to the reference number, it refers to a portion,feature, or aspect of the component or assembly. As such, somecomponents or assemblies only include reference numbers with lettersappended to identify or accent portions of features of a component orassembly but the description will refer to the component or assembly bysimply using the reference number, even if it does not appear by itselfin the figures.

In the illustrated embodiment, the pen tube 106 is shown as beingcylindrically shaped over a portion of its surface and then tapering offto a blunt end 112. The artist typically holds the tattoo gun 100 byholding the pen tube 106 similar to any other writing instrument. Invarious embodiments the pen tube may be longer or shorter and may have adifferent shape (octagonal, triangular, etc) as well as contours orvarious surfaces to facilitate gripping, holding and comfort. The pentube 106 includes a hollow core through which a barrel 108 extends. Thepen tube 106 is shown as ending at the surface of the drive assembly 104whereas the barrel 108 is shown as extending out of the top 113 of thepen tube 106 and into the drive assembly 104. In addition, the barrel108 extends out of the tapered end 112 of the tube pen 106.

The barrel 108 includes a top end 108 a that extends out of the top ofthe pen tube 106 and a tapered end 108 b that extends out of the bottomof the pen tube 106. The barrel includes a hollowed out, axial radiusand is tapered on the lower end. The tapered end of the barrel canreceive a needle assembly 110.

The needle assembly 110 extends through the axially aligned bore of thebarrel and a top end 110 a of the needle assembly is coupled to anarmature 114 of the drive assembly 104 and a bottom end 110 b extendsout of the tapered end of the barrel.

The drive assembly 104 includes a frame body 115, a frame plate 116,coils 118 a and 118 b, spring 120, spring tension assembly 122, armature114, tube assembly lock assembly 124, armature spring and active plate126, base 130, spring holder 506, circuit compartment 128, display 156and control or interface devices 154 and 158.

The pen assembly 102 can be a completely separate item from the driveassembly 104. In the illustrated embodiment, the pen assembly 102 iscoupled to the drive assembly by inserting the top end of the barrel 108a into the tube assembly lock assembly 124 and the top end of the needleassembly 110 a through the bore of the barrel 108. The tube assemblylock assembly 124 is then used to secure the pen assembly 102 to theframe 116. In this illustrated embodiment this is accomplished bytightening lock assembly screw 124 a but, in other embodiments clamps orpressure levers may also be used. The needle assembly 110, which mayinclude a single needle or several needles joined together, is mountedthrough the bore of the barrel 108 in such a manner to allow the needleassembly 110 to freely slide within the barrel 108. The top portion ofthe needle assembly 110 a includes an interface to the armature 114. Inthe illustrated embodiment, this interface includes a loop or band onthe end of the needle assembly through which a narrowed end of thearmature 114 can be inserted. However, it should be appreciated that thevarious embodiments of the present invention are constructed to accept awide variety of pen types and can be joined to the armature 114 in avariety of manners.

The coils 118 a and 118 b set on or mounted to the base plate 130 whichis coupled to the frame body 115. The armature 114 extends perpendicularto the coils 118 over the top of the coils. The spring 120 rests overthe armature 114 and when pressure is applied to the spring via thespring tension assembly 122, a downward force is placed on the armature.The spring 120 is attached to the armature 114 via screw or connector138 and the force from the spring tension assembly 122 and the connector138 keep the spring 120 in place. Armature spring and active plate 126is also connected to the armature 114 via connector 138 and to the framebody 115 via connector 140 and spring holder 506.

The circuit compartment 128 is used to house the electronics andcontrols for the tattoo gun 100. The specifics of the electronics andcontrols can vary from embodiment to embodiment and as such, the detailsare not described. However, in an exemplary embodiment, the electronicsmay include a power supply including one or more batteries 142 that areshown as being mounted under the frame plate 116 but, in otherembodiments can be mounted under the frame body 115, within theelectronics compartment 128 or other locations.

The electronics may also include a circuit board having a processor, amicro-controller, A/D converters, D/A converters, control outputs,sensor inputs, display drivers, a display 156, etc. The circuit boardand components cooperatively provide functionality that can include aninfrared receiver and/or transceiver, or an RF receiver and/ortransceiver, a battery charging circuit, a display interface, a userinterface including one or more buttons, dials, potentiometers or otheradjustments, a stable voltage regulator circuit, a micro-controller orprocessor, and an interface to the coils 118 for providing orrestricting a current from flowing through the coils.

One of the advantages of using a battery to supply power through thevoltage regulator is the accuracy of the resulting voltage andfrequency. An embodiment of a tattoo gun is configured to provideapproximately a 99% likelihood that a voltage level displayed on display156 is an accurate depiction of the voltage being applied to the controlcircuit and that the frequency will remain substantially even, in linewith the varying voltage setting. This is a substantial improvement overa main power source where a power supply can vary up to 10% in a singleday, and a consistent frequency or power can not be guaranteed.

The voltage regulator operates to provide a steady fixed voltage to theelectronic circuitry even though the supply (battery) voltage is varying(i.e. is decaying over time and can fluctuate due to temperature).Because of the stable, regulated voltage the electronics performreliably and consistently without changing the tattoo gun's speed oroperating characteristics as the battery is being discharged. When thebattery is too low to adequately power the circuit board or controlcircuits through the voltage regulator, the tattoo gun will shut downafter providing a proper warning that the battery is too low to continueoperation.

In one embodiment, the circuit board can be mounted to the frame body115 of the tattoo gun 100 and can be covered by a coating film whichprotects the circuit board from corrosion and makes the circuit boardresistant to liquids/humidity/cleaning and/or static electricity. Inanother embodiment, the electrical components 145 and 146 and thecircuit board, as well as the entire circuit compartment 128 can becovered with a moisture and/or corrosion resistant coating to provide agreater life expectancy of the electrical components and to facilitatesafe cleaning of the machine when required without the possibility ofdamaging the components. The coating can be substantially impervious tofluids.

The tattoo gun or applicator 100 may include an on/off switch 158 whichconnects/disconnects the battery(ies) 142 to/from the circuitry in thecircuit compartment 128. A battery level indicator, such as a series ofLED's and/or an LCD panel or a display 156 can be used show the expectedremaining battery life. In addition, the display 156 can be accessed andcontrolled by a processing unit to display other information such as thecurrent frequency setting, status information, etc. It should beappreciated that although a single 8-segment display is illustrated inthe figures, this is simply a non-limiting example of the display. Otherembodiments can include a variety of display types including multiplesegment displays, LEDs, LCDs, electro-illuminescent devices, or thelike.

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of one embodiment of theinvention that more clearly shows the frame body 115 and frame plate 116of the drive assembly 104. One aspect that can be incorporated intovarious embodiments of the present invention is the use of an extralight frame body 115 and/or frame plate 116 comprising light-weightmaterial such as for example, but not limited to metal, graphite,composites, glass fiber and/or polycarbonate materials. Using alight-weight material such as one of the aforementioned materials allowsan embodiment of invention to have a similar weight as or to be lighterthan the weight of a common two-coil tattoo applicator. In addition, theframe plate 116 may be easily removed and substituted with a decorativeplate that allows for customized embodiments to be created. In addition,decorative face plates can be mounted to the frame plate 116 in otherembodiments.

The battery 142 is shown as being mounted behind the face plate 116 andwithin a cavity defined by the surface of the frame body 115.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating the operational steps of anembodiment of the present invention as described above in conjunctionwith FIGS. 1-5. The illustrated flow diagram shows the operations of anartist 600 or a user of an applicator 650, as well as the operations orsteps of the applicator 650. It should be appreciated that the stepsdescribed are not all required in all embodiments and all operations ofan embodiment of the invention. In addition, the steps do notnecessarily have to be performed in the illustrated sequence.

Initially, the artist installs 602 the pen assembly 102 into the driveassembly 104 using the tube assembly lock assembly 124. The artist canthen adjust the height 604 by adjusting the spring tension assembly 122.This is accomplished in the illustrated embodiment by actuating thecoarse adjustment screw 150 or the fine adjustment screw 152 to adjustthe length of the needle 110 stroke or the height or depth of the needle110 movement. The reciprocating frequency of the needle 110 or the rateof oscillation or vibration can also be adjusted 606. This adjustment isperformed in the illustrated embodiment by changing the frequency usingactuator 154 that controls a voltage controller. For instance, in oneembodiment actuator 154 could be a potentiometer that is used to adjustthe voltage/frequency. In another embodiment, the actuator 154 may be apush button that increases or decreases a current voltage/frequencyvalue. In other embodiments, additional actuators may be used such aspre-programmed adjustment values, increment, decrement, etc. It will beappreciated that in some embodiments, a signal that identifies a desiredsetting may be transmitted to the applicator rather than using theactuator 154. For instance, a remote control unit may include theability to select a desired setting and then transmit that signal to theapplicator. This could be accomplished via a dial, a roller ball, aseries of switches/buttons, etc. For instance, a remote control footpedal may include a plurality of buttons and an artist can alter thecontrol of the applicator (such as the reciprocating frequency) bytapping on the various buttons with his or her foot. In otherembodiments, the foot pedal may operate as an accelerator constantlytransmitting voltage/frequency level settings based on pressure beingapplied to the foot pedal.

The ink can be loaded 608 for application to the client or customer.Those skilled in the art will be familiar with the various techniquesfor loading ink into a tattoo gun including systems in which the needles110 are dipped into a reservoir of ink or the ink is automaticallyreleased from the pen tube or barrel. Once the applicator is set up inthe manner desired by the artist and/or for the particular situation,the artist can actuate the remote on/off switch 610 to activate theapplicator (change it from a sleep mode to an awake mode).

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an exemplary battery charger and remotetransmitter that can be used with various embodiments of the presentinvention. The battery charger and remote transmitter (also referred toas a base unit or remote control) can include a frame/cover made out ofmetal, glass fiber and/or polycarbonate. The base unit can house a baseunit PCB and/or a transmitting/battery-charging PCB. The base unit 700includes two battery charging slots or receptacles 702 and 704 forreceiving batteries to be charged and LED charge indicators 706 and 708to indicate respectively when the batteries in slots 702 and 704 arecharging and/or charged. The base unit may be configured to charge onlyone battery or multiple batteries at the same time.

The base unit may also include a transmitter and/or receiver forcommunicating with an applicator 100. The transmission technology may beany wireless technology including infrared, RF, audio, WIFI, 802.11,BlueTooth, WIMAX, etc. In one embodiment, the remote transmitter 700simply sends commands to the applicator 100 in a single communicationdirection; however, other embodiments may provide two waycommunications. The base unit 700 includes a power connector 710 forpowering the circuitry from a standard 110V or 240V source and an onswitch 712 for turning on the charging circuitry and/or for turning onthe base unit. On the top of the transmitter, an applicator activationswitch 714 may be included along with status indicator 716, 718 and 720.In an exemplary embodiment, the step of actuating the remote on/offswitch 610 would include pressing the applicator activation switch 714.

In one embodiment of the present invention, actuating the applicatoractivation switch 714 results in transmitting an ON command to theapplicator 100 over wireless communication link 722. It should beappreciated that the remote transmitter does not necessarily have to becoupled to a battery charger. For instance, in some embodiments thetransmitter may reside in a foot pedal that is positioned proximate tothe operating area and as such, the artist can press the applicatoractivation switch 714 with his or her foot thereby keeping both handsfree to hold the actuator 650 and stretch the client's skin.

An embodiment of a base unit can have one or more of the followingfeatures and/or functionalities:

a) A base unit can be configured to transmit voltage regulation/speedinformation to a tattoo applicator via an IR or RF signal. Alternativelya user can use a voltage regulator dial on the tattoo applicator. Thevoltage regulator dial can be removable from the tattoo applicator sothat it can be sterilized. A base unit can be configured to either sendthe on signal solely, or it may—while sending the on signal, alsotransmit an indication of the voltage that the receiver/tattooapplicator should run at.

b) A base unit can be configured such that each time any of thecorresponding tattoo applicators/receivers are placed sufficiently closeto the base unit and both units are turned ‘on’, the base unit willsynchronize with that receiver only and will not interfere with anyother wireless machine in the vicinity, even if the base unit is sendinga very ‘long’ coded signal (On+voltage) while the artist wants to usethe voltage regulator on the base unit and not the one on the tattooapplicator. A base unit stays synchronized with a tattoo applicatoruntil the base unit power supply is turned off (resetting it untilturned on and synchronized again). This facilitates the ability to useany of the tattoo applicators with any of the base units without anyinterference between other similar units or any other wireless machineryin the vicinity. A signal transmitted by the base unit can be encodedafter each transmitter is synchronized with a receiver. As a result,many machines can be operated in the same room without interference. Theencoding can be formulated by a microprocessor within a base unit PCBand can be configured such that the base unit synchronizes with any oneof a plurality of tattoo applicators.

c) A base unit while charging a battery can receive information from thebattery's ‘information’ terminal. This ensures that charging will onlytake place when it is safe to do so, and that the charging stops whenthe battery is fully charged. The base unit can indicate when eachbattery is being charged and also indicate when the each battery isfull. This can be achieved via, for example, a series of LED lights oran LCD digital panel.

Returning to FIG. 6, while operating in the sleep mode, an exemplaryapplicator 650 may maintain a background process running or mayperiodically run a quick check to see if any events have occurred. Forinstance, in one embodiment, the applicator 650 may execute a continuousloop that checks for frequency adjustments, command receptions andwatchdog timer status. More specifically, the applicator 650 may monitorthe frequency adjustment actuator 154 and or other controls to determineif an artist has modified or adjusted the frequency setting. If afrequency adjust is detected 652, the applicator 650 can change ormodify the internal frequency setting 654. In addition, the applicator650 may check to see if an ON command has been received 656 from aremote transmitter 700. If an ON command is received 656, the applicator650 can enter an awake mode 658 and clear the watchdog (WD) timer.

Entering the awake mode involves turning on the reciprocating action ofthe applicator. The awake mode is entered by actuating or closing aswitch that completes a circuit path. In one exemplary embodiment,circuit path allows current to flow through the base plate 130, throughthe coils 118 and then through the active plate 126. The current flowthrough the coils 118 causes the coils to become electromagnetic. Theelectromagnet force operates to pull down the metal armature 114. Whenthe armature 114 is pulled down by the electromagnetic force, the needleassembly 110 descends and the electrical connection between the coils118 and the active plate 126 is broken. As a result, the electromagneticforce is then removed and the armature 114 can spring back towards itsprevious position thereby retracting the needle assembly 110. Returningto its previous position once again completes the circuit path betweenthe coils 118 and the active plate 126 and then the cycle continues torepeat. Thus, this cycle results in creating a reciprocating motion ofthe needle assembly.

In another exemplary embodiment, the application of the voltage to thecircuit is controlled electronically. As such, rather than themechanical action breaking the circuit and causing reciprocation, avoltage level associated with a selected frequency is applied to acircuit. Based on the voltage level, the circuit operates to turn on andoff a supply voltage to the coils 118. The frequency of turning thesupply voltage on and off is the reciprocating frequency of the needleassembly 110. This type of functionality can be achieved in a variety oftechniques including use of a 555 timer such as those available fromTEXAS INSTRUMENTS, a capacitor charging and discharging circuit, a TRIACcircuit, etc.

The applicator continues by checking to see if an OFF command has beenreceived 662 from the remote transmitter 700. If an OFF command isreceived 662, the applicator 650 can re-enter the sleep mode 664 andclear the watchdog timer 668.

In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, a protocol can be employedto control the operation of the applicator 650 and thereby reducebattery consumption. For instance, in some products on the market, aninfrared signal is used to turn on a device. As long as the signal isbeing received, the device operates. However, such a system issusceptible to temporary interrupts due to blocking of the transmissionpath or saturation of the signal. Similar problems may arise in an RFbased solution. In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, an ONsignal is transmitted to the applicator 100 to turn the applicator on orto activate the applicator. The applicator 100 then continues to operateunless an OFF command is received or until a watchdog timer timeoutevent occurs. As an example, the remote transmitter 700, upon detectingthat the applicator activation switch 714 has been actuated, will beginperiodically transmitting an ON command. Each time the applicator 650receives an ON command, the applicator 650 clears or resets the watchdogtimer. The watchdog timer is set such that if an ON signal is notreceived for a specified period of time (which will typically be longerthan the period between transmissions of the ON command—such as 2 or 3times), then the applicator may assume that it is out of range of thetransmitter 700 and automatically stop the reciprocating action andenter into the sleep mode. In some embodiments, this action can bepreceded by a warning such as a beeping or the flashing of the display156. However, if an ON command is received, prior to the watchdog timertiming out, then the watchdog timer can be cleared or reset.

Thus, the applicator 650 can also check to see if the watchdog timer hastimed out 670. If the watchdog timer has timed out, the applicator 650can stop the reciprocating action (the drive) and re-enter the sleepmode 664. In addition, the applicator can clear the watchdog timer 668.

The applicator can continuously flow through the loop checking forfrequency adjustments 652, reception of an ON command 656, reception ofan OFF command 662 and a watchdog timer time out 670.

While the applicator 650 is awake and the needle assembly 110 isreciprocating, the artist can then apply ink to the client 612. When theartist needs to stop, change needle assemblies, etc, the artist canagain actuate the remote on/off switch 614 to stop the reciprocation ofthe needle assembly 110.

Various other aspects, functions and features may also be incorporatedinto various embodiments of the present invention. Each of the followingaspects, functions and features, although in and of themselves may beconsidered to be inventive elements, are not necessarily required in allor any embodiments of the present invention.

One embodiment of the present invention includes a voltage regulatorthat is sufficiently large so that the artist can avoid touching otherparts of the applicator when adjusting the voltage regulator. Forinstance, a knob can be used for actuating the control 154. In otherembodiments, the knob may even be removable so that it can besterilized.

The described embodiments of the present invention have indicated thatthe voltage regulator is embedded in the applicator. It will also beappreciated that the voltage regulator may be incorporated into a baseunit instead. In such an embodiment, a transmission signal controllingthe frequency of reciprocation can be transmitted to the applicator,received and then used to control the reciprocation of the needleassembly 110.

One advantage of the present invention is that it is universallyadaptable for use with any or most pen assemblies. Typically, an artistmay use 2-4 or more applicators or guns for creating a single tattoo.The various embodiments of the present invention allow the artist toeasily swap out pen assemblies and needle assemblies and as such, asingle gun can easily be used. However, many artist may still prefer touse multiple applicators. In a typical environment, each applicatorwould need to have a corresponding remote transmitter. An embodiment ofthe present invention incorporates technology to enable the transmitterto adapt and synchronize with as many tattoo applicators as required foran artist (one at a time). Advantageously, this feature allows theartist to control multiple applicators from a single transmitter.

More specifically, when multiple IR or RF controlled devices are used inthe same area, there is the potential for the transmitted signals tointerfere with each other. Such interference may result in degradedsensitivities and poor range, or one unit may inadvertently andunintentionally be controlled by the controller or control signals meantfor another unit. This problem can be even more aggravated when manysimilar units are being operated in the same area and more or lesscontinuously sending out IR or RF signals. Several features can beincorporated into various embodiments of the invention to prevent thisand improve the reliability of the system.

One such feature is the synchronization of the transmitters. Forinstance, each transmitter can include a channel selector and eachdevice can be assigned to a unique channel. These assignments can beperformed at time of manufacturing or, the devices can be adjusted onsite by the customer. For instance, each applicator may include one ormore switches that can be used to define the control channel for theapplicator. The transmitter can also includes a switch that is used totune the transmitter to a particular channel. Thus, the transmitter canbe forced to communicate on a specific channel and, the applicators willonly respond to commands received on their unique channel. It should beappreciated that the channels may be physical (i.e. differentfrequencies) or they may be logical by including synchronizationcommands, encoding or signals that identify which applicator for whichthe signal is intended.

In another embodiment, each transmitter may include a channel selectorfor selecting a device channel for which only the matching receiverdevice will respond. In addition, each transmitter can include areceiver that monitors signals from other transmitters and adjusts itsinternal timing so as not to interfere with them.

In yet another embodiment, a software protocol that is independent ofwhich unit is turned on first may be employed. Normally, there is amaster unit in the system, Channel-0, that is sending out synchronizingsignals for the other transmitters to lock onto and thereby to controlor limit interference. However, if the master transmitting on Channel-0is missing or not turned on, the software will automatically assign themaster function to a lower level unit. If Channel-0 is subsequentlyturned on, it will only operate in a listening mode and in essence, willoperate as a slave since there is already a reassigned master in thesystem.

Other embodiments of the invention, especially those that employinfrared (IR) communication, may include redundancy to improve thereliability of operation. For instance, to prevent performancedegradation due to blocked IR transmissions, the remote controller mayinclude multiple IR transmitters aimed in different directions.Similarly, the remote controller may include multiple IR receivers aimedfor receiving signals from different directions to prevent performancedegradation due to blocked received signals. Likewise, the applicatorscan include multiple IR receivers and/or transmitters for the samereasons. In addition, because IR receivers are susceptible tointerference from light sources, such as the sun, a processing unit canbe used to monitor the various receivers to detect if one or more of thereceivers is overloaded or saturated by an external light source. EachIR receiver can be independently monitored and if it is saturated, canbe disabled so that the other receivers can operate normally. Inaddition, processes can be included in the control circuitry toeliminate multi-path interference when multiple transmitters and/orreceivers are employed.

An embodiment of a tattoo system of the present invention can have: a)encoding technology that will not allow external interference(pre-existing wireless machines cannot guarantee this feature), b) aconsistent power frequency and/or c) an input voltage that is consistentand not influenced by changes in external power supply.

An embodiment of a tattoo system of the present invention has an optionof a new practical and easy to use a clamping mechanism which usesleveraged power to clamp onto the tube and not a thread and screw systemthat can wear out be constantly be straining on the fingers.

Techniques to reduce power may be incorporated into various embodiments,including using a driver delay and/or relying upon the spring bounceenergy.

The driver delay can best be understood by analyzing it as a pendulum orswing movement. For instance, if a person is pushing a regularplayground swing and the swing on each cycle is pushed too early duringits pendulum swing, the weight and momentum of the swing will exertforce to push the person backwards and the person will have to workharder to keep the swing going. However, if the person waits until theswing reaches the full extent of its pendulum swing and then starts toswing back the other way, much less energy is required to keep the swingmoving. Similarly, in a typical tattoo gun, the armature swings from afirst position downward to a second position and then back. When thearmature moves downwardly, the electrical current is removed from thecoils. As the armature returns to the first position, the electricalcurrent is again applied to the coils. However, in current tattoo guns,this current is applied too early in the swing cycle and as a result thecurrent flows too early and it counteracts the swinging armature. Assuch, energy is wasted.

In various embodiments of the present invention, this wasted energy issaved by utilizing a software or circuit induced delay to retard theapplication of the current to the coils until the armature has traveledits full length to either the first or second position and in essence,has reversed direction similar to a pendulum. This delay can beoptimized by the software taking into account the present power setting,the mass of the swinging armature, and the spring constants.

With regards to spring bound, in an ideal swing, there should be aslittle resistance as possible to minimize the energy loss. If a swingingpendulum hits an object at the end of the arc, energy is typically lostby the impact. If the pendulum hits a spring near the end of its traveldistance, the spring would be compressed and absorb the energy and thentransfer some (and typically most) of that energy back into swinging thependulum the other direction. In applying this knowledge to a tattoogun, the swing of the armature can be optimized to minimize energy loss.Typically, the tattoo gun applies current to the coils to start thearmature into a downwardly swing and continues to apply the currentuntil the armature hits the top of the coil core which then becomes amechanical stop of the armature. At this point, a clicking noise iscreated from the collision and energy is lost or absorbed into the core.Embodiments of the present invention may utilize a small stiff spring atthe end of the armature down stroke. For instance, if a spring 160 isplaced between the armature 114 and the coil 118 b, then energy isabsorbed by the spring during the down stroke of the armature 114. Thisenergy, at some level of loss but much less loss than the striking thecore of the coil, is then transferred back into moving the armature 114in the up swing. The spring 160 can be made of a non-magnetic materialso as not to affect the function of the electromagnetic circuit.

FIG. 5 also illustrates a spring holder 506 that can be incorporatedinto various embodiments of the invention. The illustrated spring holder506 prevents or limits spring rotation or movement. Generally, tattooguns, being electromechanical devices, operate in a resonant mode andexperience considerable vibration. As such, they must often times beadjusted or realigned to maintain accuracy. The adjustments necessary toachieve a desired operating frequency, stroke length, and stroke forcecan be complex. Many of these adjustments require changing the locationof the armature and the support springs. Tightening up the mountingscrews 138 and 140 can result in causing the support springs 120 torotate and the armature 114 to move sideways and thus be out ofalignment. It can often take several tries to get the adjustments rightand it is difficult to counteract the spring rotation by holding it withfingers while tightening the screw 138.

This spring holder aspect can be incorporated in a tattoo gun byincluding a square or rectangular support post 502 (shown in FIG. 1) forthe spring 126. By making the spring 126 the same width as the supportpost 502, a non-rotating washer or cap 506 can be placed over the spring126 with edges descending on both sides of the spring. This assemblyoperates to lock the spring 126 in a fixed non-rotatable assembly. Inanother embodiment, rather than using the cap 506 a recess can be formedin the mounting post so that a spring sits in a U-shaped trough or otherconcave or convex surface (for instance protrusion pins from the surfaceof the support post 502 may extend through holes in spring 126). In thisembodiment, when the spring is held down by the mounting screw, it againcannot rotate.

A similar structure as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 5 may also be appliedin connecting the spring 120 to the armature 114.

In the description and claims of the present application, each of theverbs, “comprise”, “include” and “have”, and conjugates thereof, areused to indicate that the object or objects of the verb are notnecessarily a complete listing of members, components, elements, orparts of the subject or subjects of the verb.

The present invention has been described using detailed descriptions ofembodiments thereof that are provided by way of example and are notintended to limit the scope of the invention. The described embodimentscomprise different features, not all of which are required in allembodiments of the invention. Some embodiments of the present inventionutilize only some of the features or possible combinations of thefeatures. Variations of embodiments of the present invention that aredescribed and embodiments of the present invention comprising differentcombinations of features noted in the described embodiments will occurto persons of the art.

It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the presentinvention is not limited by what has been particularly shown anddescribed herein above. Rather the scope of the invention is defined bythe claims that follow.

1. A wireless tattoo applicator comprising: a frame, a plurality ofcoils mounted to the frame; an armature pivotally mounted above theplurality of coils; a spring mounted to the frame and attached to thearmature in such a manner to apply a force in a first direction on thearmature; a pen tube assembly including a barrel with a longitudinalbore extending the length of the barrel, the pen tube assembly can bereceived by and coupled to the frame; a needle assembly that is coupledto the armature and that is inserted through the longitudinal bore ofthe barrel and free to move in a reciprocating manner within thelongitudinal bore; a battery power supply that can be electricallycoupled to the plurality of coils and thereby energize the coils tocreate a magnetic field thereby pulling the armature in a seconddirection and decoupled from the plurality of coils to enable the springto pull the armature in the first direction; and a control circuit thatis operable to couple and decouple the battery power supply and theplurality of coils at a stable frequency.
 2. The wireless tattooapplicator of claim 1, wherein the control circuit further comprises auser interface that enables a user to select a desired frequency.
 3. Thewireless tattoo applicator of claim 2, wherein the control circuitincludes a stable voltage regulator that is used to generate a frequencysignal used to couple and decouple the battery power supply and theplurality of coils.
 4. The wireless tattoo applicator of claim 3,wherein the control circuit further comprises a wireless receiver andthe user interface is operable to receive user generated commands on thewireless receiver.
 5. The wireless tattoo applicator of claim 4, furthercomprising a remote control including a wireless transmitter, and whenthe remote control is actuated by a user, the remote control generatesand transmits commands to the wireless receiver.
 6. The wireless tattooapplicator of claim 5, further comprising a communication protocolbetween the remote control and the wireless tattoo applicator thatoperates to reduce battery consumption, the communication protocolcomprising: an on command that is periodically transmitted by the remotecontrol in response to a user actuating an on switch; an off commandthat is transmitted by the remote control in response to the useractuating an off switch; the control circuit being operative totransition the wireless tattoo applicator to an awake mode in responseto receiving an on command and to a sleep mode in response to receivingan off command; and a watchdog timer function within the control circuitthat continuously resets the a watchdog timer counter upon receiving anon command and if an on command is not received for a threshold periodof time will operate to transition the wireless tattoo applicator to asleep mode.
 7. The wireless tattoo applicator of claim 5, wherein thecontrol circuit further comprises a delay function that operates todelay the coupling of the battery power supply and the plurality ofcoils until the armature has traveled as far as it can travel in thefirst direction.
 8. The wireless tattoo applicator of claim 5, whereinthe control circuit further comprises a delay function that operates todelay the coupling of the battery power supply and the plurality ofcoils until the armature has traveled as far as it can travel in thefirst direction and is beginning to move in the second direction.
 9. Thewireless tattoo applicator of claim 5, further comprising a compressionspring under the armature that is compressed when the armature moves ina second direction and that is uncompressed to assist moving thearmature in the first direction.
 10. The wireless tattoo applicator ofclaim 5, wherein the frame further comprises a support post that has awidth that is the same as the width of the spring and wherein the springis mounted to the support post using a screw, and further comprising acap that includes an upper surface and a left side and a right sidedepending from the upper surface, and wherein the left side and theright side fit on respective sides of the spring and support post andoperate to hold the spring in alignment with the support post when thescrew is adjusted.
 11. The wireless tattoo applicator of claim 5,further comprising an adjustment to control the movement of the armaturein the first and second direction by applying pressure to the spring.12. The wireless tattoo applicator of claim 5, wherein the frame isadapted to receive the pen assembly by providing an interface that iscompatible with a standard pen assembly.
 13. The wireless tattooapplicator of claim 5, wherein the control circuit includes an interfaceto select a channel for the wireless receiver and the remote control cantransmit on the selected channel.
 14. The wireless tattoo applicator ofclaim 13, wherein the remote control can transmit on a plurality ofchannels and by selectively transmitting on a select channel, the remotecontrol unit can control a plurality of tattoo applicators withoutinterfering with the operation between them.
 15. The wireless tattooapplicator of claim 5, wherein the wireless receiver and the wirelesstransmitter are based on IR technology, and the wireless receiverincludes a plurality of receivers that cooperate to receive IR signalsfrom different directions.
 16. The wireless tattoo applicator of claim5, wherein the wireless receiver and the wireless transmitter are basedon IR technology, and the wireless transmitter includes a plurality oftransmitters that cooperate to transmit IR signals in differentdirections.
 17. The wireless tattoo applicator of claim 5, wherein thewireless receiver and the wireless transmitter are based on IRtechnology, and the wireless receiver includes a plurality of receiversthat cooperate to receive IR signals from different directions and thewireless transmitter includes a plurality of transmitters that cooperateto transmit IR signals in different directions.
 18. A wireless tattooapplicator comprising: a frame, a plurality of coils mounted to theframe; an armature pivotally mounted above the plurality of coils; aspring mounted to the frame and attached to the armature in such amanner to apply a force in a first direction on the armature; a pen tubeassembly including a barrel with a longitudinal bore extending thelength of the barrel, the pen tube assembly can be received by andcoupled to the frame; a needle assembly that is coupled to the armatureand that is inserted through the longitudinal bore of the barrel andfree to move in a reciprocating manner within the longitudinal bore; abattery power supply that can be electrically coupled to the pluralityof coils and thereby energize the coils to create a magnetic fieldthereby pulling the armature in a second direction and decoupled fromthe plurality of coils to enable the spring to pull the armature in thefirst direction; and a control circuit that comprises: a stable voltageregulator that is used to generate a stable frequency signal thatoperates to control a coupling and decoupling of the battery powersupply and the plurality of coils at a stable frequency; a userinterface; and a wireless receiver and the user interface is operable toreceive user generated commands on the wireless receiver.
 19. Thewireless tattoo applicator of claim 18, further comprising a remotecontrol including a wireless transmitter, and when the remote control isactuated by a user, the remote control generates and transmits commandsto the wireless receiver.
 20. A wireless tattoo applicator comprising: aframe, a plurality of coils mounted to the frame; an armature pivotallymounted above the plurality of coils; a spring mounted to the frame andattached to the armature in such a manner to apply a force in a firstdirection on the armature; a pen tube assembly including a barrel with alongitudinal bore extending the length of the barrel, the pen tubeassembly can be received by and coupled to the frame; a needle assemblythat is coupled to the armature and that is inserted through thelongitudinal bore of the barrel and free to move in a reciprocatingmanner within the longitudinal bore; a battery power supply that can beelectrically coupled to the plurality of coils and thereby energize thecoils to create a magnetic field thereby pulling the armature in asecond direction and decoupled from the plurality of coils to enable thespring to pull the armature in the first direction; a control circuitthat comprises: a stable voltage regulator that is used to generate astable frequency signal that operates to control a coupling anddecoupling of the battery power supply and the plurality of coils at astable frequency; a user interface; and a wireless receiver and the userinterface is operable to receive user generated commands on the wirelessreceiver; a remote control including a wireless transmitter, and whenthe remote control is actuated by a user, the remote control generatesand transmits commands to the wireless receiver; and a communicationprotocol between the remote control and the wireless tattoo applicatorthat operates to reduce battery consumption, the communication protocolcomprising: an on command that is periodically transmitted by the remotecontrol in response to a user actuating an on switch; an off commandthat is transmitted by the remote control in response to the useractuating an off switch; the control circuit being operative totransition the wireless tattoo applicator to an awake mode in responseto receiving an on command and to a sleep mode in response to receivingan off command; and a watchdog timer function within the control circuitthat continuously resets the a watchdog timer counter upon receiving anon command and if an on command is not received for a threshold periodof time will operate to transition the wireless tattoo applicator to asleep mode.